MLM Initial Training: 12 Things to Teach Your New Distributor

Today, I want to educate you about the MLM Initial Training. This is the “basic training” or “initial training” you do with someone right after they join your team.

Every sponsor has the responsibility to help their new team members get started right. My goal today is to help you do that. Part of doing that is doing the initial training call or initial training meeting with your new distributor. Ideally, you want to do this within 72-hours of someone joining your team.

Listed below, I will share my best tips on what to do during that initial training with your new rep. This might vary slightly by company, but this should give you a 90% solution. Follow this simple agenda and you will be well on your way.

1. Introductions

The first thing you should do during the initial training is spend five minutes and get to know each other. Find out about their family, where they are from, their hobbies, what they like to do for fun, their education, work experience, etc. Show the person you care about them as a person. Keep it short and sweet, but make sure you do the proper introductions, especially if you don’t already know the person well.

2. Find Out WHY They Joined and Learn Their Goals

The next thing you want to do is spend five minutes and find out their WHY. Ask them what made them decide to join the business and what they hope to accomplish with their business. Ask them where they can see themselves in one year, five year and ten years from now. Ask them what motivates them and what they hope to achieve financially with the business.

3. Brief Product Overview

Your next step is to spend about 10 minutes and do a quick product overview. Show them a few of the popular products, share your product story and talk about the different product lines. Give them some samples of different products to try out. Tell them what you like about the products, which ones you sell the most of and talk about which products might benefit your new distributor the most.

4. How to Order Products

Your next step is to teach them how to place their first order. Show them how to call the company direct and how to order online. If possible, get them to place their first order right there on the spot with you. You also want to teach them how they can take orders from their friends and family, so they know what to do.

5. How to Set Up Their Website

The next step is to spend a few minutes and help them set up their distributor website. Just do it with them, right there on the spot, so they can have a link to send people to learn more about their products and business.

6. Overview of the System Your Team Uses

The next thing you want to do is spend about 15 minutes and talk about the system and strategy your team uses to build their business. Talk about how the system works and why the new distributor should plug in. Talk about your experience with the system and how it has helped you personally. The system might be working the warm market, attending a weekly conference call and attending a local meeting once a month. Whatever the system is, make sure you explain it well to them and get them plugged in.

7. How to Make Your Name List

The next thing you want to do is to help them make a name list. Some people will tell you to make a huge name list of 500 to 1000 names. Yes, that is a good strategy, but it might overwhelm your new person. Instead, tell them to make a name list of their five to ten closest friends and family members; their inner circle. These are the folks you want to approach first.

Once you know their goals you want to create an action plan for them, telling them what they will need to do each day, week and month to get started right. It could be as simple as meeting two new people a day and contacting two new people each day. Make sure they clearly understand what they need to do and check to see if they are willing to do it.

10. Distro List and Conference Calls

Next, you want your new person to get access to your email distro list and conference calls. Tell them about what days and times your team does their calls and how they can get plugged in. Ask them if you can add them to your email distro list so you can send out some training and updates as necessary.

11. What to Say to People

The next thing you want to do is tell them what to say to people. Do some role playing with them and show them how they should contact their warm market to introduce them to the products and business. Give them a few scripts they can use. Offer to do some three way calls with them to help them get started.

12. Tell Them What to Expect Their First Month

Make sure they have realistic expectations about the business and what it takes to succeed. Talk to the about fear and rejection. Remind them that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Tell them that they will hear NO and that some people might lie to them or even stand them up. Tell them not everyone will be excited like they are. If you don’t teach them this stuff, they will end up quitting once they experience rejection and/or disappointment.

13. Questions and Answers

Close out the initial training by doing a question and answer session. Find out what their questions and concerns are and address it. Close the meeting on a positive note.

As a sponsor, you want to have an agenda and game plan for your new distributor. Right after someone signs up, let them know you are there to help them. Tell them you need to do their initial call to teach them the basics and give them a game plan. Explain to them that is very important. Do that, and you will start your new distributor out right! Don’t do it and they will disappear within a month or two!

You can do the initial training by phone, SKYPE or even in person. In person works best. Just make sure that you do it.

What are your thoughts? What did I miss? What else should you cover in the initial training? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think.

About chuckholmes

Chuck is a Network Marketing Professional, author, Certified Small Business Coach and blogger. He's been in the industry since 2002. He enjoys reading, writing, exercising, BBQ, buying and selling antiques, and watching funny movies. He lives in Homosassa, Florida with his wife, Rachel.

I honestly believe this is a serious issue with many network marketers. Their sponsors try to give them everything in 1 hour, and it should be split up, and put on tape or in writing so the person can go back and relearn what they were told.

Usually, when you first start, you are so “high” on the opportunity, that many people do not retain everything they need. By having several training sessions, it gives the person a chance to get everything.

Finding out their why is a great idea because it helps you gauge their motivation. I have been able to determine whether or not I would invest a significant amount of time in someone based upon their why and the actions they took in the few months after. If a person is looking to get rich quick then they probably won’t be as committed as you need them to be. But if a person had a motivating factor that is bigger than money, you’ll often find them to be the type of person you want.

This list covers basically everything that a new distributor needs to know before gaining more autonomy and going out to do business on their own. The ordering of the list is also very sensible. For example, you wouldn’t introduce resources and tools before giving a company overview, and you wouldn’t discuss how to purchase products before giving a product overview. The orientation/training needs to build upon itself like scaffolding for a house. Otherwise, it won’t be effective. One thing I’m surprised didn’t get an explicit mention is the all powerful auto-responder!